http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/es/english-grammar/adjectives/intensifiers
Here
are some others which can be used to ‘intensify’ many adjectives – ‘very’
‘really’ ‘totally’ ‘absolutely’ ‘completely’ ‘utterly’ ‘entirely’.
·
It’s
very tall.
·
We’re
really happy.
·
She’s
totally exhausted.
·
I’m
absolutely horrified.
·
He’s
completely hopeless.
·
You
look utterly miserable.
·
I’m
entirely satisfied.
Certain
adjectives have their own ‘special’ intensifiers which are often used with
them. Here are some common ones:
blind
drunk “He was
blind drunk and behaved really badly.”
bone
dry “I must
have a drink. I’m bone dry.”
brand
new “I’ve
just bought a brand new car.”
crystal
clear “The sea
near Rhodes is crystal clear.”
dead
easy “That
exam was dead easy. I’ve certainly passed.”
dead lucky “He’s won three lottery prizes this year. He’s
dead lucky.”
dead
right “I agree
entirely. You are dead right.”
dirt
cheap “I
bought my car for a dirt cheap price from an old lady.”
fast
asleep / sound asleep “I was
in bed and fast asleep by nine.”
“I was
sound asleep and I didn’t hear anything.”
paper
thin “These
office walls are paper thin. You can hear everything.”
pitch
black “There’s
no moon. It’s pitch black out there.”
razor
sharp “Be
careful with that knife- it’s razor sharp.”
rock
hard “It’s
impossible to dig this soil – it’s rock hard.”
stark
naked “The
hotel door slammed behind me and I was left standing stark naked in the middle
of the corridor.”
stone
deaf “He
can’t hear a thing. He’s stone deaf.”
wide
awake “I was
wide awake by six.”
wide
open “Who
left the door wide open?”
